Sleeping Dragon

Remember back in Exile III, where there were actually two cow graphics? One for the cave cows and one for the surface cows. It is kind of a pity that Jeff's upgraded engine makes monster graphics so much more difficult (expensive?) to create. I like the new one and all, but I do miss all the pretty pictures.

I added a new number 7. This one really set me back far into my saved games. How was I supposed to know that one random prisoner was the key to joining the Darkside Loyalists?

Whew, I did it! You need to get his health down to the tiniest sliver in order to receive the piece. It was really, really hard to do since he was pretty weak, too weak for a crystal soul. It took me many, many tries. Jeff should consider giving him more health like he did for all those other monsters you have to weaken but not kill. Those ogres in the dragons lair come to mind. Besides, a crystal soul should be stronger anyway, right? I remember back in the Exile days, they were a true challenge. Am I the first to do this? If not, it would have been nice if someone would have said it was possible, I was beginning to lose hope. But it's all good now and I repeat: it is possible!

Nope, nothing in my special items. Has anyone ever completed this quest through combat?

Okay, so on my current play through, I'm trying to kill as many people I can in the course of each quest. I need the chunk of Epiron-Bok for Gladwell and so I tell him in dialog that I'm going to force it from him. Epiron-Bok actually dies pretty easily but it doesn't give me the piece of him that I need. Is making the deal with him the only way to get that chunk? Edit: The manual says if you damage him enough a piece will break off but even if I wound him down to almost nothing and wait a few rounds, nothing happens.

You know those little purple claim markers? Well, if you head East from Much and stay towards the Southern wall, you'll find a bunch of those claim markers that have been vandalized. Eventually, you will be ambushed (or you do the ambushing) at one of them. Both time I did it I found them in the same place while hugging the South wall just west of that big black chasm.

Are you talking about the pit master? I remember that being a hard fight. When spells seemed ineffective I buffed my melee characters and just beat on him mercilessly. His two minions seem almost invincible, but they disappear when he dies. Oh, are we talking about the same person?

It is strange that the General is not acknowledging it. Usually you have the option of saying something like "I have learned to use the teleporters" at which point he orders you to go North. Did you get the blessed shield from him already? Because once you have that, your pretty much done dealing with him until much later.

I added a point about quests for Shanker. Also, I left Dervish Tholmen alive after my first encounter with him, and it didn't seem to help me later. I just had to fight him again when entering Darkside loyalist lands (I was anti-loyalist). What would have been different if I had killed him?

On my second play through (doing everything evil ) I walked up to the guards, insulted them, and murdered them all. I'm in Tranquility now and it doesn't seem to have effected anything, not even the quest itself. So go for it!

Quote: There is another merchant in the Vahnatai Lands that buys mined crystals at a higher price and with better rewards. During testing I sold most of mine and missed out on a lot of cash. Good point, I just got to the Vahnatai lands and found her. I'll remove that warning. Steal from that guy at your hearts desire! Quote: You can get both rewards for dealing with the giant queen if you cash in the Highground reward first. There is an interesting response from Highground after you kill the queen, but at least the town doesn't go hostile. I didn't know you could do that! It seems my mistake was worse than I thought... here I thought you had to choose one. Heh, by following my own advice I missed out, I'll remove that tip as well. 6, 7 and 8 are great, I'll add them to my first post. Skippy has a good point, but making mistakes is not fun for everyone, me for example. I don't like feeling that I missed something or messed something up.

I think I had a similar "problem." When I challenged Shafrir so I could kill him for the Anama, his bat familiar was somehow on my side and helped me slay him. That couldn't be how Jeff intended that fight to go, could it?

I'm not even finished yet, but I've already managed to screw up quite a few things because I didn't know any better. This thread is to help people to not make the same mistakes that I did. These are just a few things I did wrong, feel free to add more. Try to make them as spoiler free as possible, since this is designed to help those on a first play through. 1. Keep several saves in case you make a major mistake so you don't lose most of your game. 2. For the Lysstak's Spies quest in Harkin's Landing, be sure to get information from both Kelda and Kolata (by way of that guy outside the town) before visiting their ambushes in the tunnels under Drake's Pillars. 3. Don't free Anemona the Drake near Harkin's landing unless you want to make the town hostile (saw this in another thread). 4. If someone gives you a quest and specifically tells you not to do the same thing for someone else, there is probably an option to do it for that other person if you seek them out. If you like options, don't rush to do those quests for the first person that gives them to you. 5. Hold off on killing Shafrir (if you plan on killing him) until you reach Muck, there is a message for him on the job board. 6. Be careful with exploring Tranquility without the proper bracelet. After killing about 15 golems/sentinels in self defense the entire area goes hostile about destroying their defenders. This doesn't apply to the Sentinel Workshop. 7. If you kill Dervish Tholmen, you can still join the Darkside Loyalists but it will be a bit harder. More importantly, if you kill Belichick, the prisoner in Melanchion's Fortress, you will not be able to join them at all. 8. If you turn Shanker in to Sergeant Ciena, you will not be able to do her quests. You can finish any that you are currently working on, but the ones she gives out much later you will be unable to do. Basically it seems most of my problems stem from not visiting major towns in the area before exploring the region. Since Muck is all the way on the far side of the Azure caves, I think this is a reasonable mistake for a first timer to make. Good luck with your adventures!

Thanks. I must have I triggered the ambush too early. I guess I can't complete that quest at all now. One more question, who do I hand in mined crystals to at Harkin's Landing?

I'm having trouble with this quest. I already got ambushed by and reported Kelda. I had to look in the hint book to find out that the other spy was Kolata. I thought he was in the Northwest corner, but now I can no longer find him anywhere in the town. He didn't give me any useful information that I can remember. What do I do?

Were working candles not major enough to get mentioned here?

You guys are thorough, aren't you? Next challenge: make one of these for locked doors! Or just tell me what the highest needed is.

You know how I can tell Jeff writes great stories? My heart skipped a beat when I saw the Empress getting hit by that spell in the opening sequence. I knew from the website that there would be an assasination attempt but just seeing that happen to a character I have come to know and like was powerful. Keep it up Jeff!